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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Alibaba taps user data to drive growth spurt Earlier this month, it forecast annual revenues would increase 45 to 49%, besting analysts’ consensus estimates by 10 percentage points and adding…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. New Jakarta co-working space links government with startups EV Hive and Jakarta’s Smart City program have launched a joint co-working space in the capital. The space, called JSCHive, will…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. JD.com invests $397m into luxury marketplace Farfetch as part of a new strategic partnership JD.com, China’s second-largest ecommerce company after Alibaba, is pumping $397 million into Farfetch, a marketplace…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Amazon will now let you try clothes at home For many people, buying clothing online is not worth the hassle of getting a pair of pants or a shirt…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Razer takes minority stake in Malaysian fintech startup Razer has announced a strategic investment in Malaysian fintech startup MOL AccessPortal. MOL become the master distributor of zGold, Razer’s virtual currency. The…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Indonesia’s payments startup Kioson raises funding from gadget distributor Kioson, a direct competitor of Grab owned Kudo has raised a round of investment from MKNT, an Indonesian stock exchange…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Hike beats Whatsapp to launching messenger app payments in India The launch of Hike Pay not only shows an ambition to build a messaging platform, it also means Hike…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Temasek leads $70m investment in gym subs service ClassPass New York-based startup ClassPass has just closed a series C round worth US$70 million. The round was led by Singapore state…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Airfrov raises funding to let consumers buy stuff from overseas travelers Singapore-based Airfrov has raised a pre-series A round of funding worth $500,000. Airfrov is an online marketplace for people…
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Here’s what you know today. 1. Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods isn’t just about groceries Amazon will buy Whole Foods for more than $13 billion. The Whole Foods purchase changes the landscape dramatically. Suddenly Amazon owns…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Malaysian fintech startup, Mycash Online reaches equity crowdfunding goal in a day The app serves foreign workers in Malaysia, letting them reload phone credit, pay bills, buy bus tickets,…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Indonesia’s Blibli acquires online travel agent Tiket Indonesian online travel agent Tiket has been acquired by Blibli, an ecommerce site backed by Indonesian tobacco conglomerate Djarum. It’s a 100…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Jack Ma is reportedly set to explore joining $1.5 billion fundraising round for Grab Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma may team up with SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son in a…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Instagram’s direct-response Story ads are available for self-serve buys Ads within Instagram’s Stories feed can prompt people to swipe up to visit a brand’s site or install its mobile app….
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Amazon launches Prime Reload, offering 2% back on purchases funded through debit cards Amazon today is launching a new perk for Prime members that will give them cash back on…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Singapore’s Shopmatic raises $5.7m to expand to Indonesia, the Philippines Shopmatic is an ecommerce enabler for small businesses as well as individual entrepreneurs. Apart from building and managing their own…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Marketing automation startup Kofera raises pre-series A Kofera, a startup that automates parts of the digital marketing process, has raised a pre-series A round. The investment was led by MDI…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Intudo Ventures venture capital debut with $10 million of capital fund The launch debut fund is contributed by undisclosed limited partners as the founding general partners at leading venture…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. JD.com poised to enter Thailand JD.com, China’s second-largest ecommerce company, plans to enter the Thai market later this year in a move to expand its overseas business beyond Indonesia. Thailand would be…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Alibaba to launch data center in Indonesia and India Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, announced that it plans to establish a new data center in…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Ikea is mulling 3rd party ecommerce sales Ikea is mulling selling its ready-to-assemble furniture and home goods online through third parties. In a statement emailed to Retail Dive, the…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Singapore Press Holdings sets up new venture with freelance services startup Prominent media organization Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, SPH Interactive, has invested $709,000…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Facebook Live auctions come to Singapore Several wholesalers and auction houses in Singapore are now regularly conducting auctions via Facebook’s live video streaming feature, Facebook Live. Would-be buyers don’t…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Catcha-backed Frontier Digital injects $3.5m into two online classified sites Frontier Digital Ventures, an operator of online classified businesses backed by Patrick Grove’s Catcha Group, today announced it snapped up…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Financial comparison site Moneysmart raises $10m series B to grow into new markets Singapore-based financial products and services comparison site Moneysmart has raised US$10 million for its series B round….
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Grab wants to offer more consumer services Grab wants to be the number one provider of online-to-offline (O2O) services, said founder Anthony Tan. O2O is a term to describe…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Rocket backed Delivery Hero gears up for IPO German food delivery business Delivery Hero says it is gearing up for an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, looking to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. “Amazon for cars” Carsome raises $6 million round Carsome, a used car marketplace based in Malaysia, plans to enter more markets in Southeast Asia after raising $6 million in…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Malaysia’s Bank Negara kicks off fintech sandbox Bank Negara has approved four firms to operate within its “regulatory sandbox”, marking a significant milestone in the growth of financial technology in…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Sequoia raised $4 billion across four funds, including $2 billion for its growth fund Sequoia Capital has raised $4 billion in funding for a variety of funds, according to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. After bank takeover, Indonesia’s Salim Group plans push in digital payments Indonesia’s largest conglomerate, Salim Group, has acquired a majority stake in a local bank. Through various affiliated entities, the…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. EngageSpark raises funding to reach the world’s offline people through the phone Philippines-headquartered EngageSpark announced today it has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by 500…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Carousell now features startup jobs The ads are laid out in Carousell’s familiar format and seem to point mostly toward part-time positions and odd jobs. In its quest to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Uber posts $708m Q1 loss; finance chief departs Uber has published its financial results for Q1 2017. While sequential revenue grew by an impressive 18% to hit US$3.4 billion for…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Gobi Partners sells stake in Malaysian startup Hermo to Tokyo-listed Istyle enture capital firm Gobi Partners has sold its stake in Malaysian ecommerce startup Hermo to Japanese company Istyle….
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Singapore government and SGX launch their drive for more tech IPOs The Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Singaporean government’s main ICT and media…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Vietnam’s version of Tencent, VNG eyeing US IPO Vietnam-based internet company VNG Corp has signed a preliminary deal with US stock exchange Nasdaq to explore an initial public offering….
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Fingerprinting for SIMs made mandatory in Thailand All mobile users must participate in the online fingerprint ID system for new prepaid and postpaid mobile SIM card registration, or they…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Singapore’s Vulpes launches Myanmar-focused tech VC fund Singapore-based Vulpes Investment Management Pte Ltd has announced the launch of a Myanmar-focused venture capital (VC) fund to invest in early-stage technology companies. The…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Vietnam state investment arm SCIC partners Thai Kasikornbank Vietnam’s government investment arm SCIC, the state investor in the country’s biggest firm Vinamilk, has inked a deal with Thai Kasikorn…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Alibaba to lead $1b round into Chinese food delivery startup Alibaba and its finance affiliate, Ant Financial, are in talks to lead a round of at least US$1 billion…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Government push: Singapore plans to spend $1.7b this year in contracts for Smart Nation apps The Singapore government plans to dedicate US$1.7 billion to work with the private sector…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Indonesia’s second largest telco shuts down its ecommerce site Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia’s second largest telco by revenue, says it’s shutting down its ecommerce site Cipika. It’s part of the…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Australian mobile ads startup raises $23m for expansion to Asia Melbourne-based mobile ads startup Unlockd has just closed a series B funding round worth US$23 million. It aims to use the…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Malaysian VC association joins forces with regional counterparts The Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (MVCA) is now part of the ASEAN Venture Council (AVC). With four of ASEAN’s…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Sea (formerly Garena) files for $1 billion IPO Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup, has filed confidentially for a potential U.S. initial public offering that could raise about $1…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Cainiao now controls 81% of Alibaba’s domestic orders Embedded within Alibaba’s most recent quarterly results was a clear sign that couriers in China have increasingly aligned their IT…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. WeChat now lets mainland Chinese users share content to Facebook With parent company Tencent seeking to expand its presence outside of China, WeChat has just launched a significant new feature…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. London’s Shipamax raises funding to expand to Asia China’s early-stage VC investor Cherubic Ventures has joined theS$2.5 million seed funding round of London-headquartered shipping software startup Shipamax. Shipamax will…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Lazada TV goes live in Malaysia Lazada TV, which made its debut on 19 May will instead, be home to live and pre-recorded shows on home improvement, make up…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Uber Freight launches to connect truck drivers with available shipments Uber Freight is a new service from the ride hailing company that pairs up trucking companies, including independent operators…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Grab opens R&D center in Indonesia Grab announced the opening of its new R&D centre in South Jakarta, in a media conference. The sixth Grab R&D center will employ up to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Amazon is hiring people to break into the multibillion-dollar pharmacy market Amazon is hiring a business lead to figure out how the company can break into the multibillion-dollar pharmacy market….
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Carousell wants to help you sell a product in 3 seconds “Can we, now having five years of experience, data, and learnings, create the next evolution of classifieds? Can…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Shopee has seen a rise in popularity in Indonesia Some metrics indicate it’s already beating fellow Singaporean mobile shopping app Carousell, which is almost three years older. Shopee counts…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Messaging app Line lost more users, still focusing on key markets Line has told Tech in Asia today that it’s another three million down, dipping to 214 million users…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Singaporean fintech startup 4xLabs secures $1.5m for global expansion Dymon Asia Ventures participated in the financing, following up on its earlier involvement in 4xLabs’ $1 million seed round. The fintech…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Australian logistics startup Shippit gears up for Asian expansion Australian logistics software company Shippit announced today it has raised a series A round worth US$1.6 million. The Sydney-based startup…
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Here’s what you should know. 1. BBM parent Emtek boosts payments tech with 2 acquisitions Indonesian media conglomerate Emtek, which develops the popular Blackberry Messenger (BBM) app in the country, has snapped up shares in payment companies…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Cyber attack ‘WannaCry worm’ spurs concern for critical infrastructure A Thai cybersecurity expert has urged all Window-based computer users to update their software to defend against the latest global cyberattack,…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Thai classifieds platform Kaidee launches new car marketplace Thai online classifieds platform Kaidee has launched a new and improved dedicated car marketplace called RodKaidee. Users will be able to search for cars via…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa make e-payments in Thailand easier Mastercard, UnionPay International and Visa today introduced a Standardized Quick Response (QR) Code for payments, accelerating Thailand’s transition to a cashless…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Singapore’s HungryGoWhere launches POS system Singapore foodie portal HungryGoWhere today launched a point-of-sale (POS) system that will enable merchants to lean on its reservations and takeaway platforms, as well…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. SF Express opens branches in Vietnam and Thailand SF Express, a subsidiary of SF Holdings, a Shenzhen, China-based express delivery firm, recently announced that its service centers in Vietnam…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. SoftBank nears tech fund closure with $95 Billion in funding Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son’s investment pool has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which said it would consider…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Plug and Play Accelerator Program launches in Indonesia Based in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play Indonesia is part of the largest startup accelerator program in the world. Plug and Play Indonesia accepted…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. B2B platform Bizzy acquires small startup, replaces CEO Indonesian ecommerce company Bizzy has acquired a startup called Alpha. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Bizzy supplies other…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Hewlett Packard sets up new 3-year startup program in Singapore Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the US tech giant’s business-to-business spin-off company, is setting up a new innovation program in Singapore called…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Lazada partnership a ‘major positive’ for POS Malaysia HLIB Research has issued a ‘hold’ call on Pos Malaysia Bhd, with a raised target price of RM6.08, following the company’s…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Garena rebrands as ‘Sea’ after raising $550 million in funding Garena has rebranded as Sea Ltd. after Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup secured $550 million in funds to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Thailand’s National bank reveals that most Thais don’t know debit cards can be used like credit cards Bank of Thailand official Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya said that the national…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. ‘China’s greatest angel investor’ has made his first Southeast Asian investment- in Silot Silot, an ambitious fintech startup, has just launched in Southeast Asia and bagged a US$800,000 seed round…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Indonesia’s Go-Jek raises $1.2 billion led by Tencent The deal, which we understand was signed last week, values the company at $3 billion post money. It is expected to be officially announced…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Facebook beats in Q1 with $8.03B revenue Facebook had another strong quarter, beating estimates to start 2017. It scored $8.03 billion in revenue and $1.04 GAAP actual EPS in…
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Here’s what you should know. 1. Omise launches Alipay ewallet payments Online payment platform Omise announced its support for Alipay, China’s largest payment processor. This is another step closer towards creating a borderless online payments market for…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Thailand’s Power Buy will be going omnichannel Power Buy is an electronics retailer that operates under Thailand’s retail giant, Central Group. The department is a permanent fixture in…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. China’s JD.com reportedly in talks to invest in Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia JD is reportedly in early-stage negotiations to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in one of Indonesia’s largest…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Facebook redesigns marketplace The changes are more about making the marketplace easier to use, with a now-scrollable list of item categories that appear as candy-colored, rounded icons. The idea here…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Airwallex raises $13M led by Tencent Australia-based cross-border payments startup Airwallex has closed a $13 million Series A round to expand its reach across Asia Pacific and into Europe. The…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Shopee Philippines sees the growth in male shoppers More Filipino males are starting to browse online for better deals and are more meticulous than women when it comes to…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Didi Chuxing, the Uber of China, confirms $5.5B raise for global and AI push The company confirmed fundraising rumors today; it has raised a fresh $5.5 billion to continue global expansion…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Amazon blows past earnings expectations The company shattered earnings expectations, reporting $1.48 per share, when Wall Street was expecting $1.12. Net income stood at $724 million. Shares quickly soared…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Private equity investor KKR tops up third Asia fund, nearing $7b target KKR is a private equity investor with stakes in various sectors, including tech. It became widely known in…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. PayPal shares up 7% after better-than-expected earnings PayPal, the payments company, posted first-quarter earnings results after the bell on Wednesday. After surpassing analyst estimates with an adjusted 44 cents…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Startup hubs are linking Singapore and Indonesia Tenants of the network of co-working spaces EV Hive, based in Indonesia, now also have access to the facilities of Singapore’s startup space…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Hong Kong-based Lynk raises $4m Series A round Hong Kong-based Lynk is an online service that connects enterprise users to experts in a variety of fields. Lynk operates on a software-as-a-service…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. SeedPlus raises over $18m for its first seed-stage fund Seed-stage startup investor SeedPlus has raised over US$18 million for its first fund. It targets early-stage local and regional startups that…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Walmart launches startup investment arm and appoints new CEO Store No 8, Walmart’s investment arm has hired Jenny Fleiss as the chief executive of its first portfolio company. Fleiss…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. WeChat sees bigger spenders as China goes more cashless 45% of WeChat users pay for things in stores using the messaging app’s wallet feature because they don’t even carry cash….
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Thai conglomerate CP Group set to buy 7-Eleven franchise in Indonesia Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, an affiliate of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group poised to buy 7-Eleven franchise in Indonesia…
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Here’s what you need to know before starting the weekend. 1. Confirmed: Amazon is coming to Australia The US online retail giant is going down under in a big way. Amazon is actively looking for a…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Vietnam’s ‘NextTech’ aims to bring retailers online NextTech is becoming a gateway in Vietnam to digitize traditional business into ecommerce. Small business owners installing the online payment is…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Paytm is in talk for a $1.5 billion investment from SoftBank Paytm is reportedly in talks with Japan’s SoftBank Group to raise $1.2-1.5 billion in cash which will place…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. eBay’s Q2 profit forecast falls short of estimates eBay’s shares fell 2.5% to $33 on Wednesday after its second-quarter profit forecast fell short of analysts’ estimates of 47%….
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. PayPal partners with Android Pay for in-store payments push PayPal has entered a partnership with Google’s Android Pay to further expand PayPal’s presence in offline stores. The partnership…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1. Alisports is bringing e-games to the Asian Olympics Alisports, the sports affiliate of ecommerce giant Alibaba, announced that it’s partnering with the Olympic Council of Asia to bring e-sports…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. SingPost signed a partnership with Airbus Helicopters for drone delivery. One year after a similar MOU was signed between Airbus Helicopters and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore,…
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Here’s what you should know today. 1.Amazon is tightening its grip to India’s mobile shoppers US-based ecommerce giant Amazon is almost neck-to-neck with Flipkart in winning India’s mobile ecommerce users, according to the latest data by…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Alibaba’s Ant Financial raises offer for MoneyGram to outbid Euronet Ant Financial, Alibaba’s affiliated company focused on financial services, raised its agreed offer for MoneyGram, a Texas-based money…
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Here’s what you need to know today. 1. General Electric to focus on creating startups in Singapore The American technology conglomerate General Electric (GE) announced a string of partnerships in Singapore to help build out Industrial…
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